Autumn of Recuperation
by Red of Rivendell
Summary: Junerose is finding it difficult to deal with Methuselah's death. Her friend Juniper helps her through it. PG just in case. Story that I wrote for school.


A/N This is just a short piece that I wrote for Language Arts. It takes place after the war with Cluny.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Redwall or any of its inhabitants. I own Juniper and Junerose, that's it.  
  
  
  
(dream)  
  
  
  
Methuselah stood at the great Redwall tapestry, carefully stitching the image of Martin the Warrior back on. At a slight noise, he turned and saw Chickenhound the Fox sneaking off with stolen treasures. Vainly, Methuselah tried to stop him. The sack in the fox's paws was brought crashing down on the old mouse's head. Weakened by age, the old Recorder fell to the ground, dead.  
  
  
  
Matthias stood in the rafters of the Abbey bell tower. He glanced at the rat waiting for him to come down and trembled with rage. How dare Cluny threaten his friends! Angrily, Matthias raised the sword of Martin over his head and brought it down. The keen blade sliced through the rope binding the Joseph Bell to the rafters like a fish sliding through the water. The bell seemed to hang in the air for a split second before crashing down on the waiting rat below.  
  
  
  
(end dream)  
  
Clang!  
  
  
  
Junerose sat up, startled from her dream by the clanging of Matthias and Methuselah, the new abbey bells, cast from the remains of the Joseph Bell. She yawned and stepped out of bed, throwing on the habit tossed haphazardly over a chair next to her bed in the dormitory.  
  
  
  
Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she gazed out the window, over the eastern wall, now glowing a dusty rose color in the early autumn sunlight. From her vantage point, Junerose could see the orchard, full of ripe fruits, perfect for harvesting. Plump, juicy, red apples bobbed in a light breeze while bushes full of assorted berries rustled soothingly. How hard it was to believe that only last season the woodlands had been teaming with searats attempting to conquer Redwall Abbey!  
  
  
  
The bells tolled again, calling the inhabitants to breakfast. Junerose's sensitive nose picked up delicious scents wafting through the halls and calling to everyone as she flit lightly down the stairs leading to Cavern Hole. Friar Hugo, the plump mouse-cook of the abbey, was definitely making up for lost time!  
  
  
  
Upon entering Cavern Hole, Junerose took her customary seat next to her friend, Juniper.  
  
  
  
"Morning Rose!" he bubbled cheerfully. "Sleep well?"  
  
  
  
"Why do you have to be so sickeningly cheerful at times," she grumbled in reply.  
  
  
  
"Why do you have to be so crabby?" he retorted. "And you didn't answer my question."  
  
  
  
Junerose glared at him, but complied with his request. "I slept fine. I dreamed about old Methuselah again. And Matthias and Cluny fighting."  
  
  
  
"Why dwell in the past? Think about now. Like how long will it be before Abbot Mordalfus says grace?"  
  
  
  
Glancing towards the abbot, Junerose whispered, "If I told you that he was going to say it now, would you be quiet?"  
  
  
  
As if in response to her question, Abbot Mordalfus stood up, ringing a small bell at his place. Everyone grew quiet as the abbot cleared his throat to recite one of the oldest graces Redwall knew, written in the days when Martin the Warrior first came to Mossflower Woods.  
  
  
  
"Squirrels, otters, hedgehogs, mice,  
  
Moles with fur like sable.  
  
Gathered in good spirits all  
  
Round this festive table.  
  
Sit we down to eat and drink,  
  
But friends, before we do, let's think  
  
Fruit of forest, field and banks  
  
To the seasons we give thanks  
  
  
  
"Today is the first day of the harvest. Because we are all recuperating from the war, this season shall be the Autumn of Recuperation." He seemed to stare right at Junerose.  
  
  
  
Little Tim Churchmouse banged his paws on the table. "Where be my vikkles? I bees starving!"  
  
  
  
Everyone laughed at the little mouse's wisdom and began to pass the food around. Junerose sighed as she saw John Churchmouse recording something for the abbey records. It brought back memories of old Methuselah doing the same thing. If only he was still around!  
  
  
  
Juniper heard his friend sigh. He swallowed a large bite of apple turnover and slung his arm comfortingly around her shoulders. "Rose, Methuselah's dead. You can't change that. As I said, don't dwell in the past. The future looks brighter, anyways."  
  
  
  
Junerose threw Juniper's paw off her shoulder and cried, "You don't understand! Methuselah was like a father to me! Why did he have to be murdered? Why did Cluny have to come? Why?"  
  
  
  
"Listen to me Rose. We can't change fate or the past. Methuselah was like a father to many of us. He was getting older. I don't think he would have lasted much longer even if times had been different." At her stoic silence, Juniper tried another tactic. "Rose, Methuselah would be angry if he could see how you were carrying on."  
  
  
  
"Why would he be angry?"  
  
  
  
" He would want you to live your life to the fullest, not live in the past. Look at Matthias. He was very close to Methuselah and now look at him! Because of Methuselah, Matthias is now the Abbey Warrior of Redwall. At his death, Matthias sulked, but he got over it to honor the memory of his friend. Methuselah's death affected us all in some way, but we are learning to bear with it, just like we are learning to bear with the thought of war plundering Mossflower."  
  
  
  
Junerose didn't reply. She could see the wisdom in her friend's words. For the rest of the meal, she ate the delicious food in silence, reflecting on the words.  
  
  
  
The meal was soon concluded and the brothers and sisters of the abbey poured out onto the grounds. It was harvesting time again. Junerose smiled a little as she joined some of the younger brothers and sisters in collecting the fruit that the acrobatic squirrels dropped down from the higher branches of the trees into the collection baskets that would go down to the storage rooms.  
  
  
  
The main gate creaked slowly open and the Guosim shrews poured in from the woodlands to help. Other woodland creatures also came to offer their aid. The harvesting was beginning!  
  
  
  
The day seemed to move by so quickly. The grounds were never quiet. You could always hear the laughing of happy creatures and the little ones wailing as their minders exclaimed at their stickiness and declared it bath time. The aromas of good food being baked in the kitchens for meals drifted out into the crisp autumn air.  
  
  
  
Junerose found herself working with Juniper to lie out the tables for dinner in the orchard. Juniper saw the contented and cheerful smile on her face, something that had seemed so rare in the past few weeks since the war. He could see that his friend was trying to put the past behind her and live her life. She was, so far, succeeding.  
  
  
  
There were always times that Junerose felt strongly about the loss of Methuselah, but throughout her years as a sister in Redwall, she always remembered the words of her lifelong friend, Juniper. "Methuselah would want you to live your life to the fullest."  
  
  
  
"And so it shall be," she would whisper in reply to her thoughts. "And so it shall always be."  
  
  
  
A/N Please do not ask me to continue this. Chances are that I will probably not unless I come up with some brilliant plot idea. This is just a short piece that I wanted to know how other Redwall-lovers would react to it. People who haven't read Redwall liked it, so I was just curious. Feel free to give me your thoughts! (And check out my Lord of the Rings stories if you're into that!) 


End file.
